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Chaos Elégant
(Extract)
Chaos Elégant transports the audience to Cotonou (Benin’s economic capital) into the
daily life of young urban dancers who meet in the evening, on the asphalt of a busy avenue
or on the pavement of a public square to practice.
From improvisation, they summon out the principle of the « Trip all », a state of body
exploration which transforms the hazard, the unexpected and the obstacle into a creative
opportunity. Wether it’ll be a failure, an impediment, a car breakdown, a power failure, an
injury, an insult or hunger that may be felt ? Everything can be « recycled », sometimes just
in time, to provide the substance used to create the choregraphed component of the creative
work. With these different elements is then formulated with raw elegance the chaos
of an often harsh but never resigned existence. Each with their own experience, story and
dance style – Break, Flexing, Voguing, Krum… – that they bring into resonence with the traditionnal
and ceremonial dances of Benin – Zinli, Tchikoumé…, deploy their reaction force
and their fury of overcoming.
Chaos Elégant tells the story of the facetiousness, games and challenges of this collective
of young urban dancers. Encouraged by the live percussion, -a drum kit combining traditionnal
instruments with recycled objects-, the energy spreads to the limit of overflow. It is
the same energy that accompanies Egungun ceremonies, that is a cult in the the Benin- Nigeria
region in which ancestors come to the living and manifest themselves through dance.
Chaos Elégant therefore paints the portrait of Benin’s busting capital, with its emblematic
figures such as the gan houmito, the neighborood bandit who imposes his law but is
laughed at from behind, the choko, the show-off who pushes elegance to excess, and the
zemidjans (« take me quickly » in Fon) motorcycle cabs. The cabs are recognizable by their
yellow shirts, which appeared thirty years ago to compensate for the lack of public transport,
and whose existence -many of whom are university graduates – bears witness to the
development problems of the country.
Chaos Elegant also tells the moving story of choreographer Arouna Guindo who, dented by
life, managed to get out of the street, and out of an inner chaos through dancing.
Jaï Production, coproduction Institut Français du Bénin, Residence and sponsor: Le Centre – Lobozounkpa (September 2020 / January 2021).
Premiere at Institut Français du Bénin, Cotonou October the 9th, 2020 & January 22th 2021, and in
Parakou, December 10th 2020.
